


Meet Me Underneath The Mistletoe

by 4ureyesonly28



Category: Lewis Capaldi (Musician), One Direction (Band)
Genre: Business Trip, Chicago (City), Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, First Dates, Fluff, Implied Ziam, Louis is a bit of a disaster gay and can't think straight when he meets Harry, M/M, Niall Horan & Louis Tomlinson Friendship, Niall is dating Lewis because their chemistry is everything, which is definitely based on how I act and feel when I meet somebody I find attractive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 01:27:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21539134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4ureyesonly28/pseuds/4ureyesonly28
Summary: Louis flies out to Chicago for business just before Christmas... His flight home is cancelled because of a snow storm and he ends up going to his colleague Niall's Christmas party where he meets the most gorgeous man he's ever seen. And if they end up under the mistletoe within less than an hour then that's nobody's business but theirs.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan/Lewis Capaldi
Comments: 28
Kudos: 127
Collections: 1D Christmas Fest





	Meet Me Underneath The Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to [Lynda](https://wait4ever.tumblr.com/), as always, for putting up with me constantly doubting myself and for being wonderful. <3  
> Thank you also to [Annika](https://harryandlouisdragmedown.tumblr.com/) for being my biggest cheerleader and helping me out with the company summit bit of this fic because I’ve never had an office job and I wouldn’t have known where to start if not for you. <3
> 
> The title of the fic is from Justin Bieber's song Mistletoe.

Louis tapped at his phone before the screen could lock and sighed impatiently. The download on the last three episodes of his favourite podcast hadn’t finished yet, but he needed to leave for the airport like five minutes ago. He hopped from one foot to the other and stared at the little green circle on his Spotify as if that would make it load faster. He had a flight to catch but he also had the prospect of nine hours on a plane in front of him and he needed some form of entertainment for that. Finally, the circle closed! He snatched his phone off the counter, double checking that he had turned off all the lights and appliances before grabbing his suitcase and bolting out the door dramatically. Then he remembered he should probably lock the door and awkwardly walked back to do that. He ran downstairs, hopped in his car and sped all the way to his mum’s place to pick her up. She would drive his car back from the airport and use it while he was away. 

“Mum,” Louis whined in her arms. “I promise I’m gonna call as soon as I can, ok? But I really gotta run to catch my flight.” 

“Okay,” she sighed. “It’s just hard knowing you won’t be back in time for your birthday.” 

“I’m sorry. I’ll try my best to call as soon as I’m checked in,” Louis assured her. “I love you.” 

“I love you too, boo bear,” she sniffled and placed a smacking kiss on his cheek. 

“Alright,” Louis scoffed. “I’m twenty-seven years old for Christ’s sake!” They both laughed as Louis turned to walk away. He looked over his shoulder shouting “I love you!” 

  
  


Louis knew somebody was supposed to pick him up at the airport, yet he was still surprised to see an older man in a suit, quite tall and bald, standing at the arrivals gate with a sign that had his name on it in serif letters and the _Jones PR_ logo printed below. He walked up to the guy and tried for a friendly smile. 

“Mister Tomlinson?” the man asked. He had the voice of someone who had been chain-smoking for years...Louis, itching to get some nicotine in his system after the long flight, hoped that was true. 

“Just Louis, please,” he said as they shook hands. 

“Then I’ll be Just Charlie,” the man said with a thick southern accent and took Louis’ suitcase from his hands. Louis took a breath to complain, but Charlie interrupted: “I insist.” 

“If you insist on carrying my luggage, I insist that we take a smoke break before we get in the car,” Louis smiled up hopefully at the older man. 

“That can be arranged,” Charlie nodded. 

“Perfect,” Louis sighed as they walked outside. He stood next to one of the ash trays in the smoking zone outside the terminal. “I was getting quite grumpy after that nine hour flight.” He offered the chauffeur a cigarette, which he politely declined, instead procuring a small metal box of cigarillos and lighting one for himself.  
“Classy,” Louis commented, before they fell into a companionable silence. 

As the sun was setting, Charlie dropped Louis off at the _Marriott Marquis Chicago_. And there he was, little Louis Tomlinson from Doncaster, who used to peel the “25% off” stickers from the sandwiches in Tesco’s and put them on more expensive items to save money, standing in front of a giant luxurious hotel in Chicago, about to go to his first company summit. Louis took the moment to step to the side and light another cigarette before walking in and checking into his room. He spent some time reminiscing, thinking about how he ended up here, and smiled to himself before blowing out a big cloud of smoke. 

“Alright, mate?” A buff guy with a grown out buzz cut walked up to him and smiled. Louis thought he recognized him from a couple times he had to go to the company headquarters in London…

“Yeah, what’s up?” Louis shook the guy’s hand. “I know I’ve met you before but I can’t quite remember your name…” 

“Liam,” the guy filled in. “I’m an accountant in the London office.” 

“That’s where I’ve seen you!” Louis nodded and offered him his pack of cigarettes. 

“Oh, thanks,” Liam pulled one out and lit it, quickly inhaling the smoke and slowly blowing it out after a few seconds. “Cheers! I really needed that. Zayn always knicks mine.” Of course Louis had no idea who Zayn was, but he just nodded along and put the pack back into his pocket. 

“I’m Louis, by the way,” he said, not sure if he’d introduced himself. 

“I know,” Liam grinned. “The next big shot campaign manager.” Louis stared at him, taken aback. “I’m the guy who’s had to book all the bonuses you’ve earned in the past year.” Liam laughed good-naturedly and Louis joined in. 

“Sorry, I guess,” he shrugged. “But not really. Those bonuses allowed me to buy my little sisters some great birthday gifts.” 

“That’s sweet,” Liam smiled. “I’ll be thinking about that the next time I want to complain about your over-achieving.” 

“Good,” Louis stubbed out the end of his cigarette in the ashtray and took his suitcase. “I gotta go check in. It was nice talking to you, though.” 

“Likewise,” Liam nodded towards the remainder of his cigarette. “Cheers for the fag again, mate.”  
“Oh, and Louis?” 

“Yeah?” Louis turned to look back over his shoulder as he was walking towards the entrance. 

“A group of us is meeting at 6.30 for dinner in the restaurant, if you don’t have other dinner plans,” Liam invited. 

“I’ll keep that in mind, thanks,” Louis gave a small thumbs up and turned back towards the large glass doors that lead into the lobby. 

The hotel was huge, it took Louis a full ten minutes to get to his room from the lobby, and the room itself was far more luxurious than any of the hotels Louis had stayed in before. It had a panoramic view of Lake Michigan for heaven’s sake! There was a living/office space when you walked into the room with a small sitting area and a desk that was separated from the bedroom via a large wardrobe with a flippable TV in the middle, so one could watch telly from the loveseat in the front area or the bed. And the shower in the ensuite bathroom had two different shower heads and a bunch of knobs he spent a full minute figuring out. The water pressure was excellent though and did wonders to relieve his sore neck muscles from the stress and discomfort of the long flight. Louis had managed to take a nap on the plane, but his body was very confused with the fact that he’d been in the air for so long yet the sun hadn’t set by the time he landed. He yawned, rubbing his face, and turned off the water with a sigh. He could already tell this jet lag was going to be horrible. 

Louis had another twenty minutes until he had to go downstairs to eat dinner. He briefly considered just ordering room service, but he was at the company summit to get to know his colleagues as well as presenting what he’d worked on in the last year. He’d only been in his position for about ten months at this point, and he knew that he was exceeding expectations. But he’d never been to one of these summits before and he desperately needed to get to know the others so he wouldn’t come across as a right tit when he proudly presented his success two days into the conference. Plus he mostly worked with interns and butted heads with the old-school marketing guys who’d been sitting in his office for longer than Louis was alive. Liam seemed to be about his age and nice enough...Maybe he could become actual mates with the people he worked with? He shook his head as he let himself fall back onto the soft mattress of the hotel bed. He needed not to get ahead of himself with that one. 

Louis had almost fallen asleep after a short call to his mum. So when he jumped up from the bed, quickly pulling on a nice jumper, he was already late for dinner. He grabbed his key card and phone and jogged over to the giant escalators that lead down to the restaurant. He panicked for a moment when he saw how big the area was, but when a waitress approached him and he told her that he was staying for the company summit, she led him over to a separate area reserved for the employees of _Jones PR_. The place was still pretty big, but he quickly spotted Liam waving at him and made his way over to the corner table he was sitting at. 

“Hi, everyone,” Louis greeted the table at large. “I’m Louis.”

“We know,” a familiar looking guy with messy dark hair and classically handsome features grinned. “Liam wouldn’t shut up about how he invited you.” Louis laughed as he took a seat. “I’m Zayn by the way.” 

“The cigarette thief!” Louis exclaimed and Liam had the decency to look at least a little guilty as Zayn hit him in the arm. 

“He tell you such charming things about all of us?” a brunette with a thick Irish accent asked from the other side of the table. 

“I’m afraid we didn’t get to talk long enough for him to mention anyone else,” Louis smiled easily. 

“Of course not. He only talks about Zayn anyway,” the guy retaliated. Louis had a feeling Liam was the lad who got teased a lot within this group, but he didn’t seem to mind, just smiling along. “If he’s not talking about you, of course.” 

“I don’t know if I should be flattered or scared,” Louis laughed. 

“Depends on what you want from Payno…” another guy teased, earning a glare from Zayn. 

“I don’t think I’ve introduced myself yet,” the Irish lad changed the topic. “I’m Niall, manager of the Chicago branch since it opened almost two years ago now.” Oh, a young manager—how refreshing.

“Cool!” Louis nodded towards the others at the table. He got to know them throughout the course of dinner, some of them from the London headquarters, others from the local branch and one each from New York and Orlando. “I hope I’ll retain all this information. I feel like the jet lag isn’t going to do me any favours this week.” 

“You should’ve taken an earlier flight like most of us,” Liam said. 

“I couldn’t,” Louis shrugged. “Had to supervise wrapping up the last project because we have a bunch of new interns.” 

“You do mostly see them, don’t you?” the New Yorker asked. “I did an internship in advertising before I got into HR and it was always just us and a bunch of old guys.” 

“Cheers for that, mate,” Louis laughed. He interrupted when the guy went to apologize. “No, no. You’re right! I always have a bunch of kids around me and then when I go to meetings it’s mostly older colleagues. Sometimes I get to have someone like Liam sit in on a meeting, but we never get to talk.” 

“Sounds kind of boring,” the ginger guy from the English office commented. Louis thought he was an event manager, maybe they’d even worked together before, but he wasn’t sure if he wasn’t mixing him up with the guy from Orlando. 

“Well, the work itself isn’t,” Louis chuckled. “I’d love to do a project for a branch with younger supervisors for once, though.” He winked at Niall, who just leaned back in his seat with a satisfied smile. 

The conversation kept flowing through dinner and people kept trickling away until just Liam, Zayn, Niall and Louis were left at the table, each with a beer and tired, slightly buzzed smiles lighting up their faces. 

“So what’s the deal with these two?” Louis asked, nodding toward Zayn and Liam who were deep in conversation, leaning closer together as they were speaking. 

“I honestly don’t know,” Niall whispered back. “I feel like they’ve been dancing around each other since last year. No idea if they’ve hooked up yet.” Louis snickered.

“They seem to be very close, but do we know if they’re gay?” They could both easily pass as straight, but something about the way they looked at it each other made Louis’ gaydar go off. 

“Everyone’s a little bit gay,” Niall said very matter-of-factly. “At least that’s what my mate Harry always says. And I for one didn’t believe him either until a few weeks ago…” Niall blushed, looking like he wanted to take that comment back. 

“Proper philosopher, your mate,” Louis nodded. “Forget about these two...Who’s the fella that’s got you blushin’ all red?” 

“Funnily enough, his name’s Lewis,” Niall grinned. “Saw him doing stand up in the summer, in the bar where I play with my band sometimes and got to know him pretty quickly after that.” 

“Lewis, huh?” Louis smiled. “He’s got you looking proper loved up...What’s this about a band you say though?” 

Niall told Louis about his band that practised every week and played a few gigs here and there. And once Louis asked, he brought up his boyfriend more and more, making Louis a little bit jealous of the love they quite obviously shared, but mostly just happy for them. There was just a different kind of bond that could be made with another lgbtq person, especially one who was into similar music as him. Zayn and Liam kept in their little bubble, only throwing a few sentences into Niall and Louis’ conversation here and there, but they stayed up too late anyway and definitely all had too many beers that night. Later, when Louis fell into the foreign bed, he did so with a smile and he barely had time to worry about not being able to sleep in a strange environment because he dozed off so quickly. 

The first day of the summit went by in a haze. Louis could remember meeting loads of important people and shaking a lot of hands, listening to different departments present their numbers and tactics as well as their predictions for the coming year...It was all pretty standard stuff as far as he was concerned and he could easily let himself be pulled along by the group he’d started hanging out with the night he arrived. He remembered their conversations in the halls, during the breaks between meetings and presentations, better than most of the things people had worked hard to present. It was just that he wasn’t a numbers guy, and people tended to let professionalism stop them from making their little gigs memorable. He was getting a bit nervous about his own presentation, intimidated by the extreme corporate blandness of what he’d seen. Niall reminded him why he was there in the first place. 

“Your job is literally to get people to pay attention to you in creative ways,” he said, clapping Louis on the shoulder. “Mark from HR wasn’t hired because he’s a creative person...Of course your part is going to be much more attention-grabbing than the rest.” 

“I guess I’m just a bit scared that they won’t take me seriously,” Louis mumbled. 

“Most of the guys here are seniors in their department...The two of us are probably the youngest people getting to talk in front of everyone and we have to make sure to show them that we know what we’re doing. But we also know how to put on a show, right?” 

“Sure,” Louis laughed. “Should I break out the Danny Zuko costume from my high school’s _Grease_ production? Will you be my Sandy?” 

“Tell me about it, stud,” Niall mimed taking a drag from a cigarette and stubbing it out on the carpet. Louis shimmied in Niall’s direction and they started dancing around, having a laugh until the break was announced over. 

Niall was a great guy, really. They met for a beer in the hotel bar at night. Having lost Liam and Zayn somewhere along the way, the two of them talked about work and bonded even more over music. 

“I don’t have a project assigned for the new year yet,” Louis whined. “I’m the head of my department at the moment but I don’t even know if they intend to keep me.” 

“I’m fairly certain they do,” Niall said very seriously. “Liam tells us you doubled the sales of every client you worked with and put on some of the most successful events the company has had in years.” 

“My supervisor told me that some executive would tell me what my next move is here, but the meeting’s only scheduled for the day after tomorrow,” Louis recounted. “It’s not like I’m scared I’ll lose my job. They’d be pretty stupid to let me go…” 

“Hear-hear!” Niall toasted with the last of his pint. 

“But it irks me that I don’t have a project yet,” Louis finished. 

“Well,” Niall smiled. “I’m not supposed to talk about this, but I had a meeting of my own and I’ve asked if we could have you on board for our next big campaign.” Louis sputtered. 

“Here?” he asked. “In Chicago? And I’d be working with you?” 

“I’m sure it’s only one of many offers, but everybody on regional level is allowed to put forward a proposition for a project including a request for an international team member. I might not be the only one who wants you…” Niall whispered. It was very conspiratorial. Louis downed the rest of his drink and slammed the glass on the bar. 

“I’d fucking love to work with you,” Louis kissed Niall’s cheek over-affectionately. 

“Careful there,” Niall laughed, wiping his cheek. “Lewis might not like us getting that close.” 

“He’s a wonderful chap, I’m sure he understands the excitement,” Louis grinned. 

And a wonderful chap he was, Louis found out the next night as they walked in the doors to a local pub and a pasty yet youthful guy immediately wrapped his arms around Niall and hugged him close. They were introduced and as soon as they got talking, Louis knew what had Niall so wrapped around the guy’s fingers. He was incredibly funny and charming, kept spinning stories into convoluted hilarious bits, and made Louis feel right at home. They met Niall’s friend Julia as well, who was a very affectionate person. And they talked about everything and nothing, toasting to Louis’ presentation (which had gone amazingly) and to the pay raise Niall was promised and to Lewis booking a solo show in a comedy club downtown and to Julia’s YouTube Music channel hitting one hundred thousand subscribers and to the City of Chicago and to the invention of _Cocoa Puffs_ and to Hermione Granger....Louis honestly lost track of space and time and the amount of alcohol he consumed. Until he got up for a smoke break and the floor started tilting a bit. He haphazardly tied Niall’s scarf around his neck and shrugged on his coat. As they made their way outside, he held onto Julia to avoid stumbling and falling. His fingers were still curled around her arm as they leaned against the wall. He took a few seconds, until his digits started to feel frozen in place and he felt it was safe to let go. 

“You’re pretty hammered,” Julia giggled, the tiniest snowflakes dancing around her face. Louis liked how they twinkled in the sparse light at this time of night.

“Yeah,” Louis turned and smiled at her. She had bleached hair and pretty yet interesting features. There was snow stuck in her knitted headband. Her eyes were covered by a dark shadow from the street lamp above and Louis tilted her head to be able to see their colour. 

“What are you doing?” She laughed. 

“I wanna see what colour your eyes are,” Louis murmured. They were a muddy hazel colour, light but not quite green. 

“What kind of pick up line is that?” Julia asked. 

“Not a pick up line,” Louis snickered. “You’re very pretty, but unfortunately not my type.” He lit his cigarette and blew the smoke out into the night. 

“Thought so,” she smiled, taking the fag from between his fingers and putting it against her lips. It had red lipstick prints on it when she handed it back. 

“What gave me away?” Louis stared at the sky, trying to make out the stars against the city sky. 

“You kept smiling at Ni and Lewis in a very happy but...wistful way,” she explained. “It’s cute.”

“Yeah, well,” Louis coughed. “I haven’t had anything similar to what they have since college.” 

“What do they have?” Jules blinked as a snowflake fell I to her eye. 

“Love,” Louis smiled. “And trust, and an undeniable connection.” 

“I take it you’re not the type for anything casual then?” she asked with a contemplating lilt to her voice. 

“Never was,” Louis admitted. “I’m ready for marriage, kids, everything. Just haven’t found anyone who would want that with me.” 

“Hm,” Julia handed back the cigarette. “He might be closer than you think,” she said with a cryptic smile. They headed back inside before they turned into frozen statues against the wall. 

Louis was hungover. It was the worst feeling ever and he wished he could stay in bed all day and bask in his own malaise, but he had an important meeting today. If what Niall had said was true, he would get multiple offers on different campaigns and, depending on what exactly he would be doing in Chicago, he might stay. His head was pounding as he turned off his alarm and, not having Julia around for support, stumbled on the way to the ensuite. But he managed to look half-presentable by the time he walked out of his room. Today was the last day of the summit and he only had the one meeting with the board of directors scheduled. He walked into the conference room nervously and exited with elation rising in his every pore. He had gotten the job in Chicago. It was a campaign for a new music artist with one hell of a budget and a hefty bonus if he was successful. A dream come true. 

Louis thought long and hard about staying in Chicago over the holidays but he wasn’t sure he could. The company would have him stay in a hotel for the duration of his project with the local team, one closer to the offices though, and probably a little less expensive. Ultimately he decided that he needed to go home. He didn’t want to go too long without seeing his family, especially because it already pained his mother that he would only arrive on the 25th, meaning that he wouldn’t see them on his birthday. 

He had another day left in the city before he was leaving and he decided to go explore...The little bit of snow from the night before had now fully coated the streets and the roofs of the houses he passed—And it was still snowing! Louis took a taxi to the city and inspected the Christmas market, grabbing little trinkets for his family and looking at the decorations and lights everywhere. His first stop actually took him to buy a scarf and some new gloves. He had thankfully brought a warm jacket and a beanie, but he needed something to ward off the snow and the cold wind hitting his face and hands as he walked around. 

As Louis was sitting down for lunch with Niall and Lewis, his phone went off in his pocket. He apologized and took a quick look at the message, his face falling. 

“What’s going on, lad?” Lewis asked, taken aback by the sudden mood change. 

“Dear passenger, we regret to inform you that your flight from Chicago O’Hare International Airport to London Heathrow on December 24th, 3pm has been cancelled due to unsafe flying conditions caused by the weather,” Louis read out loud. 

“Oh, damn,” Niall commented. “What are you gonna do?” 

“I...don’t know,” Louis continued staring at his phone as if the airline would text him a quick ‘psych, jk’ message any second now. “I’ve never spent Christmas away from my family. It was already a big deal that I was spending my birthday away from home.” 

“When’s your birthday?” Niall asked, a man on a mission. “We didn’t miss it already, did we?” 

“No,” Louis finally looked up. “It’s tomorrow. Christmas Eve.” 

“Okay, fun,” Niall nodded and glanced at Lewis to exchange a meaningful look. “So you’re obviously coming to our Christmas party then tomorrow, yeah?”

“And if the company won’t pay for you to stay in the hotel until flights are back on track, you can take up residence on our couch,” Lewis reached over the table to pat Louis’ shoulder. 

“I…Thank you,” Louis looked at both of them. “I’ve got to make some calls.” And with that he excused himself and went outside the little Italian restaurant Niall had picked for lunch. Before he even dialed anyone’s number, he lit a cigarette to calm his nerves. In the morning the snow had been exciting and he’d found everything beautiful covered in a glittery white sheen. Now as the wind picked up and it seemed like there was a fully blown snow storm coming and preventing him from going home, he was pissed off. He took another drag of his cigarette as he contemplated the order in which he had to call people and huffed out a cloud of smoke and hot breath. Everything was great. Everything was fucking _great_. 

After freezing his arse off outside for about 30 minutes whilst making his calls, the sudden warmth of the restaurant pinpricked against his icy cheeks and made his stiff fingers hurt like he’d just dipped them in boiling water. Niall and Lewis were sharing a plate of bruschetta, smiling at each other like idiots. 

“...like an Irish Christmas elf,” Louis caught the end of Lewis’ sentence which sent Niall into a loud cackle. 

“What are you then?” he asked sitting down. “His little reindeer?” 

“I do have one thing in common with Rudolph,” Lewis grinned. “We both need that red clown nose for our jobs.” Louis laughed along with them as the waitress approached and took their actual orders. 

“The airline says they’ve rescheduled my flight for boxing day,” Louis told them. “My mum is proper sad. But the good news is the company said they’ll rebook me for my room until then.” 

“Could be worse,” Niall smiled. “Now you get to spend Christmas with us!” 

“I don’t want to impose,” Louis sighed. “We’ve not even known each other for a week. I’m sure you’ve got traditions and stuff.” 

“Bugger off with that,” Lewis shook his head. “We’ve invited you because we wanted to, not out of pity.” 

“Yeah,” Niall agreed. “Julia will be there, and my bandmates, a couple of Lewis’ mates as well.” 

“I’ll think about it, okay?” Louis tried to smile, but he wasn’t feeling it. 

“Not good enough,” Niall reached across the table to squeeze Louis’ arm. “What have I got to promise you to get you to come?”

“Um,” Louis frowned. “Good food? And a mistletoe with an attractive lad waiting underneath.” 

“Done and done,” Lewis laughed. 

“I want pizza and the guy has to be single...It can’t just be one of you guys,” Louis chuckled. 

“A whole pizza,” Niall agreed. “And I know just the right guy to place under that mistletoe as well.” 

“Oh God,” Louis dropped his head on his forearm. “I hope you know that I was joking about the guy.” 

“I wasn’t,” Niall said, and winked when Louis lifted his head to look at him. 

So Louis was going to a Christmas party on his birthday. He realized he should’ve asked more questions when he stood in front of his suitcase and didn’t know what to wear. Niall and Lewis seemed like the type of people who might wear matching ugly Christmas sweaters...He didn’t have one of those, obviously, but he could go out and buy one? He shook his head at himself and grabbed a soft emerald green jumper instead. The neck had been loose to begin with, but after years of wearing it, it had started to stretch so that his chest tattoo would peek out from underneath if he didn’t wear a shirt with it. 

The real reason Louis had agreed to go was that they had promised Pizza, but when he walked through the door to Niall and Lewis’ flat, he couldn’t help but hope that Niall had not entirely been kidding about knowing someone who might want to stand under the mistletoe with him for a bit… Louis hadn’t had a boyfriend in a good two years and casual hookups weren’t usually his thing, but he was definitely open to a Chicago-fling (and hoping that this new town would bring the love of his life, but that was beside the point).

So when he walked into the living room after having handed a bottle of mid-tier whiskey to Lewis, who had opened the door for him, he was caught off guard to see Niall standing next to the most gorgeous man he’d ever seen. It was like the universe had been listening to his inner monologue...He was perfect—tall and broad shouldered, long legs in a pair of high-waisted mom jeans that definitely should not have looked as good on anybody as they did on him...and he was wearing a cardigan with a Norwegian pattern across the front in Christmas colours. The sleeves were rolled up to reveal a splattering of dark tattoos that made Louis want to get closer to look at them, trace them and ask what they all meant to him. And then he threw his head back in laughter at something Niall had said and Louis felt like the world stood still as he watched how his tousled curls moved around the little antlers he had clipped into his hair. If his life were a romance novel, Louis would walk up to this miracle of a man, say something witty and make him fall deeply in love with him over the course of about 200 pages...Sadly, this was Louis’ actual life and his brain just logged off the second he caught the man looking curiously in his direction. At this point, he’d probably been standing in the door and staring for about two minutes. He needed to move. He forced himself to look away and instantly wanted to glance back. Instead, he focussed on Niall and went over to greet him (not to get closer to the mysterious man of his dreams). 

“Hi, Niall!” he greeted a little stiffly. 

“Oh, hey birthday boy!” Niall engulfed him in a bone-crushing hug. “Your pizza’s over in the kitchen and the mistletoe is right over there.” He pointed towards a second door to the room and clapped Louis on the shoulder. “This is Harry by the way,” he introduced the gorgeous man Louis had been trying not to look at in fear of losing his marbles. 

“Hi,” the man, Harry, said with a smile. The genuine kindness with which he stared into Louis’ eyes was almost scary. “Happy birthday!” Louis wanted to go for a handshake before but now he had his arms open for a friendly hug and the next second he was pulled into a taller body and his brain didn’t just log off, it actually shut down. 

“Uh,” he said intelligently. He looked to where Niall had been standing and noticed the Irish devil had somehow disappeared. “Thanks.” He wasn’t sure if his thanks were to Harry or more of a sarcastic remark to Niall. Louis smiled up at Harry, still standing a bit too close to him after their hug. 

“I would’ve brought a present, but nobody told me Niall invited a Christmas baby to the party this year,” Harry said and his voice was deeper than expected. He actually looked apologetic too.

“No worries mate,” Louis shyly looked down at the pattern across Harry’s chest and noticed the imprint of a necklace against his plain white t-shirt. “They actually only invited me yesterday. My flight home was cancelled because of the storm.” Harry hummed in understanding.

“How do you know Liall?” Harry asked. 

“Who’s Liall?” Louis repeated. His confusion must’ve been written all over his face because Harry started laughing good-naturedly. 

“Lewis and Niall...Liall,” Harry explained. 

“That’s ridiculous,” Louis chuckled. “I’ve only known them for a couple of days – met Niall at the company summit –, so I know they’re disgustingly in love, but the nickname is a lot.” Louis shook his head, refocusing his gaze on Harry. 

“They came up with it before they even got together,” Harry started saying, but Louis’ brain apparently couldn’t handle watching his face as he talked and actually listening to the words coming out of his mouth. His lips were really plush and pink and when he stopped talking to smile, Louis saw that his front teeth were a little larger than the rest, standing out slightly, and he thought it was incredibly adorable. “Are you okay?” Harry asked with another big smile showing off his bunny teeth and Louis’ eyes got drawn to the dimples in his cheeks. Okay. He needed to breathe. 

“Yeah,” Louis sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. “I’m sorry,” he said, taking another deep breath and swaying with it. He was off balance, standing so close to Harry and having to look up at him. 

“Hey,” Harry said, securing Louis’ balance with a hand on his arm. “You seem a bit dazed.” 

“I think I just forgot to breathe for a minute there,” Louis admitted, holding Harry’s steadying hand in place. “Sorry, I don’t usually behave like an absolute mess when I meet people.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Harry laughed. 

“Does it happen often?” Louis rolled his eyes. 

“Does what happen often?” Harry asked, still smiling. 

“Do people forget to breathe around you a lot?” Louis clarified, feeling a bit better now that he was regularly taking in oxygen. Harry’s hand on his arm surprisingly didn’t serve to get him more flustered, but helped ground him a little. 

“Not that I know of,” Harry replied. “I thought it might be something that happens to you around new people so I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.” 

“Surprisingly, I’m actually pretty comfortable in social situations...usually,” Louis chanced a glance up at Harry before diverting his gaze again. “I think my brain just logged off when I saw you and then when you started talking it immediately shut down.” 

“Maybe you’ll find talking to me more bearable with a drink?” Harry suggested. “And there’s a carton of pizza in the kitchen with your name on it, I believe...Literally.” 

“You’re a man of my taste,” Louis said. They were still standing so close together the tips of Louis’ socks almost touched Harry’s. They were mismatched, Harry’s socks, and Louis thought it was kind of ridiculous for a grown man, but he loved how quirky it was. He smiled up at Harry, getting drawn in by the pull of his eyes. Louis could smell a whiff of a heady cologne and he could see the little specks of yellow in the colour of Harry’s eyes. If he wanted to, he could count his eyelashes. He watched as dimples formed in Harry’s cheeks with a slow smile. It was intoxicating. 

“Am I?” Harry murmured, lightly tracing the sleeve of Louis’ jumper and raising goosebumps all over his arm. 

“Huh?” Louis shivered, glancing back up at Harry’s eyes and somehow they were even closer now. 

“Am I a man of your taste?” Harry repeated, his voice deep and slow. 

“Are you?” Louis mused. “I don’t know…But I’d love to find out.” 

“I wonder what might happen if we accidentally bumped into each other under the mistletoe on the way back from the kitchen?” Harry suggested and when he grabbed Louis hand to lead him in that direction, Louis was powerless...He just followed, letting himself be pulled whichever way Harry was going. 

Louis was just reaching for a bottle of beer from the fridge when he noticed the eggnog. 

“Harold,” he called out. “Do you by chance have a similar affinity to eggnog as I do?” 

“Sure,” Harry laughed. “And it’s just Harry by the way. It’s not short for anything.” 

“Whatever you say, Henry,” Louis winked over his shoulder. “Now where would I find the right glasses for this in here?” he asked as he closed the fridge, looking around the room. Harry placed the glass of rosé he had poured himself on the kitchen island and walked right over to where Louis was standing, opening the cupboard above his head. 

Louis tried to concentrate on breathing again so he wouldn't get overwhelmed by Harry behind his back. Harry took a tiny step back, giving Louis actual space to fill his lungs with air. Louis, who’d never been religious in his life, sent a quick prayer to the guy who’d stolen the spotlight on his birthday since he could remember, thanking him for once. He spotted the right glasses on the top shelf and went onto his tiptoes to reach them, his fingers grazing the side of the first glass, but pushing it back instead of grabbing it. 

“Need help?” Harry asked. He was much closer than Louis had thought, breathing on his neck and making his skin erupt in goosebumps. 

“Jesus,” Louis muttered, rolling his eyes. Of course he’d thanked that fucker too early. For a moment he considered climbing the work surface just to show Harry that he didn’t need his help. Whatever. “Please,” was what he decided on saying instead. 

And then Harry was really pressed up behind him, even more so than before. Louis’ heart stuttered. He braced himself with his hands flat on the surface he’d recently considered climbing on top of as Harry’s entire body pressed into his back. He wasn’t even that much shorter than Harry, but in that moment he felt positively engulfed in his presence. Talk about personal space. It seemed like Harry’s boundaries were practically non-existent, and Louis wouldn’t mind if it didn’t make him blush so furiously. He could feel the heat travel onto his cheeks as Harry shifted behind him and reached to grab the first glass from over their heads. He reached around Louis to quietly set it down in front of them. When his arm moved back up, Louis could feel the muscles in Harry’s chest shifting against his back, and he actually leaned some of his weight on Louis as he stretched to grab the second glass. He set that one down as well. 

“There you go,” he whispered into Louis ear before stepping away again. Louis let his head drop a little to look at the glasses in front of him. 

“You…” he muttered, closing his eyes for a second and trying to will the heat from his cheeks. “You’re unbelievable,” he whispered as he poured them two glasses. He turned around to face Harry who was casually leaning against the kitchen island, unaffected at first glance. The only thing giving him away was his mischievous smile and his darkened eyes. 

“Happy birthday,” Harry toasted as they clinked their glasses together. They drank in silence, Louis downing half of the small glass in one go. 

“You already said that,” he reminded after another sip of eggnog. 

“It bears repeating,” Harry smiled, standing up from his leaning position and reaching over to touch the side of Louis’ face. “You’ve got something on your lip...May I?” Louis brain short-circuited again. He just nodded, thinking that he wouldn’t mind if Harry wiped or licked it off. Harry went for the prior, gently swiping his thumb over the top of Louis’ lip. He looked at it for a second before making eye contact with Louis again and just _licking it off of his thumb_. 

“I…” Louis stared at Harry’s lips with big eyes. “You’re impossible.” Harry just smiled that dimpled smile of his and pulled Louis over to another door that he hadn’t even noticed when stepping into the room.

And then there they were, standing on each side of the doorway Niall had pointed to earlier, a pretty bunch of mistletoe above their heads and all Louis could do was stand there and blink up at it and back down at Harry. The sheer luck of having ended up in this situation had him at a loss for words. 

Then Harry moved in, back to standing with their toes together – Louis could see it as he shyly glanced down – and Harry ran a hand up his arm, up to Louis’ jaw, tilting his head up to look at him. 

“Is this okay?” he asked. Louis’ hands involuntarily grabbed at Harry’s arms as he stared into Harry’s eyes and leaned into the touch caressing the side of his face. He should probably answer. 

“Mhm,” was all he could reply and then Harry stepped even closer, crowding Louis to lean into the cold doorframe behind his back. Louis could feel the warmth radiating off of Harry’s body as he leaned in, Harry’s thumb brushed over the side of Louis face and he closed his eyes, craning his neck until their lips finally met. Harry’s lips were plush and slightly chapped from the cold and Louis could feel his breath fan over his face and then their lips detached, but Louis wasn’t having it, digging his fingers into Harry’s biceps and pulling him back without opening his eyes. 

It turned out opening his eyes would’ve been a good idea because his nose bumped into Harry’s, making him giggle. But when Louis opened his eyes, Harry’s giggles turned into a private smile and he leaned his entire body against Louis’ now, effectively trapping him against the door post. Louis reached up to tilt Harry’s head the other way and pull him back down for a second kiss, which he hoped would be longer. As far as second kisses went, Louis thought it was quite spectacular. Harry wound his arms around his waist, eagerly pulling him closer, but their lips moved slowly, never quite parting but softly learning the way the other’s mouth moved. Louis had always known he was quite romantic, but even he had to smile at the fact that he could see fireworks going off with the shiver running down his spine. 

“What are you smiling about?” Harry asked against his lips, a whisper of eggnog traveling with his breath. 

“I was laughing at myself,” Louis sighed as he rested his head against Harry’s shoulder. He smelled like the cologne Louis had noticed before, but there was a strong note of gingerbread in there.   
“I was actually imagining fireworks going off behind my eyes,” Louis admitted.

“I take that to mean that I am a man of your taste,” Harry chuckled. 

“I told you I like eggnog,” Louis joked. “I walked into the living room and since then all I could think about was how I hoped that I would be a man of _your_ taste.”

“The feeling’s entirely mutual then,” Harry leaned back to look at Louis again. “I hope that you don’t mind that eating your birthday pizza is being severely delayed by this mistletoe business.” Louis’ belly was full of butterflies, so he shrugged. 

“I came because Niall promised pizza and a fit lad under the mistletoe,” Louis murmured. “I love a good pizza, but this is definitely superior to anything we could find in that carton in the kitchen.” 

A day later, Louis was standing in front of the entrance to _Lincoln Park Zoo_ , wrapped up in his turtle neck jumper and warm jacket, waiting to meet Harry. He’d considered styling his hair, but the snow had barely let up and he doubted he could go the entire evening without his beanie so he gave up on the idea pretty quickly. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked around at the people walking towards the zoo. It was just past sundown, almost 5pm, and he could already see a million different lights twinkling behind the entrance of the Zoo. Harry arrived on the bus just after Louis’ and he was breathtaking as he stepped off, looking around for Louis. He was wearing an elegant black coat and black heeled boots, making him even taller than the night before. His ears were covered in a knitted headband, curls artfully layered every which way. Louis felt severely underdressed. Harry greeted him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, very chaste, and they made their way towards the lights. 

“You look very nice today,” Louis complimented as they entered the Park. There were bare trees to their left and right and they were completely covered in colourful lights, reflecting on the snow and in Harry’s eyes as Louis looked up at him.

“Thank you,” Harry smiled. 

“I’m just really missing those little antlers you had in your hair yesterday,” Louis frowned. “They would definitely tie the look together.” 

“Ah,” Harry hummed. “You were the one who messed that up though…” That was true, after all Louis had managed to tangle his fingers and Harry’s hair around one of them under the mistletoe. Julia had to come to the rescue and detangle the little clip from the mess Louis had created on top of Harry’s head.

“What can I say?” Louis asked. “I just want the best of both worlds, Curly.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Harry laughed. “I would’ve come in my blonde wig.”

“I _would_ love to see you in drag,” Louis nodded his approval. “I bet you’d look really pretty.” 

“Hmm,” Harry looked off towards a large arch of blinking lights, inclining his head towards it and lead them in that direction. “I did do Miley for Halloween a couple years ago...Just when Niall moved here.” 

“Which Miley?” Louis asked. “Sweet country girl Miley or tongue out riding wrecking balls Miley?”

“Practically naked grinding on Robin Thicke with space buns and the foam finger Miley,” Harry grinned. 

“God,” Louis tried not to imagine it, lest he get hot and bothered in public, but he couldn’t _not_ think about it. “I wish I had seen that.” 

“I bet you do,” Harry laughed. “I’d say I’ll recreate it for you some time, but my hair was longer then.” 

“Which I’m sure was the most crucial part of that costume,” Louis laughed. 

“Heey,” Harry pouted. “I put a lot of thought into that.” 

“I’m sure you did, love.” 

They were nearing the central area of the Zoo now, having taken a large round through the park to look at the different twinkling lights. There were light-animals lining the walkways, even little glowing sloths in one of the trees, and monkeys swinging over their heads…plus all sorts of candy canes and snowmen and the like. The arch they’d walked towards before was lit in changing rainbow colours and there was a man on a small stage carving an ice sculpture near it, but they’d already seen all that. Now they were in front of a round little house with different sections selling snacks and warm drinks and Louis’ cold nose ached to be warmed up by the steam rising off a cup of hot chocolate. 

“How come you have time to take me out on a date on Christmas Day?” Louis asked, clutching his hands around his mug. 

“Coincidentally,” Harry said around a bite of a soft pretzel. “My flight home to Seattle was also cancelled.” 

“How convenient for me,” Louis smiled. “I probably would’ve spent tonight alone in my hotel room watching _Love, Actually_ and crying if it weren’t for you.” 

“I love that movie!” Harry said enthusiastically. “We can definitely still go and watch that tonight if you’d like. I’m always down for a good rom-com.” Louis chuckled at Harry’s eagerness. 

“Okay, Romeo,” he patted Harry on the back. “Calm yourself.” 

Later, they were walking away from the commotion, passing people hurrying to see the man finish his ice sculpture and families with kids, who had glow sticks like bangles on their arms and around their necks. The snow had really started to settle down in the late afternoon, still crunching under Harry’s boots and Louis’ soaked trainers, but not relentlessly falling from the sky anymore. Only a few flakes here and there. 

They reached a bridge over a pond. Some parts of the water were starting to freeze over or melt on the sides – Louis couldn’t really tell either way, but he was fascinated by the city lights reflecting off of the water and stopped, leaning against the wooden railing to take it all in. On the other side, opposite the city lights, the water reflected some of the last light installations they’d passed. Louis thought that the bare trees covered in single colour lights were his favourite. 

Harry was standing a few steps away, looking at Louis. He watched tiny snowflakes fall on his head and shoulders, forming a glittering sheen and Louis waved him over to look at the water together. Harry stepped up next to him, shoulders pressing together and they watched the water silently for a few moments. A snowflake got caught in Louis’ eyelashes but before he could blink to remove it, Harry had delicately turned his face and touched it away. 

He was now resting his hand on Louis’ cheek and he couldn’t help it—he involuntarily stepped forward and closed the gap between them. It felt really good to stand close to Harry. There was warmth radiating from both of their bodies and Louis felt a blush forming on his cold cheeks when he realized just how close they were once again. Yes, they had shared a few kisses under the mistletoe last night, and tangled themselves together to everybody’s amusement, but now they were alone in this park on Christmas Day with the magical lights just a minute away and there was virtually no room between them. 

They hadn’t shared a kiss yet today so there was a new anticipation when Louis, in a moment of bravery, looked up and found Harry’s attention already on his face. Harry’s fingers were still warming up the side of his face. He lifted his hand to mirror the way Harry was touching him and let his fingers slowly brush over the cold skin of his cheekbone. In a split second, they looked at each other’s lips, and then they were smiling. Harry brought his other hand up as well, to cup Louis’ face, and moved in even closer. He stopped, leaving a breath of space between their lips, as if to ask for consent. Louis’ heart was skipping all around his chest, his face positively tingling where Harry was touching him, and he’d probably forgotten to breathe again with how light-headed he felt. But Louis nodded and stood up on his tiptoes to close the gap between them in the gentlest, most delicate kiss. There were little spots of light dancing in front of Louis’ eyes when he closed them and the connection they had made ended all too soon. A moment after the first contact, they were already moving in for seconds. Harry’s lips were soft and innocence was written all over the way his thumbs tenderly stroked over Louis’ cheekbones. There was no rush, just the delightful excitement of this kiss. When they parted for good, they were both smiling and leaning their foreheads against one another for a moment. Snowflakes had gathered on Harry’s eyebrows and Louis took the liberty to thumb them away. The ones on his eyelashes were already melting as he blinked slowly, but the specks of white caught in Harry’s brown curls were there to stay and glitter a little longer.

“That was nice,” Louis commented, staring up into Harry’s face and feeling the warmth of his breath on his own.

“It really was,” Harry smiled. The grin spreading across his features revealed his dimples on either side of his face and they were so lovely Louis couldn’t help but touch them.

“Lovely,” Louis nodded.

“You are,” Harry muttered under his breath. 

“What a cheesy line,” Louis laughed. 

“Shut up,” Harry grinned. “You love it.” 

Louis just shrugged. “We should move, maybe,” he tried instead. They were still just holding each other, standing as close as their winter coats would allow.

“Maybe we should,” Harry agreed, not moving a millimeter.

“Look at us go.”

**Author's Note:**

> Written as part of the [1D Christmas Fest](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/1dchristmasfest2019) for the prompt #82. "Louis is spending Christmas away from his family for the first time. He's been sent to Chicago for work. That's where he meets Niall who insists on Louis joining him and his friends in their holiday traditions. He agrees only because pizza had been promised. When he arrives at the agreed meet up, his entire mood changes. The man of his dreams...okay, so he's a little cliche... is standing with Niall."  
> To whomever sent in this prompt: I hope I did it justice and that it turned out the way you imagined it! Merry Christmas!
> 
> If you liked this, I would appreciate kudos and comments or a reblog of [the tumblr post.](https://evilovesyou.tumblr.com/post/189689448804/1dchristmasfest-meet-me-underneath-the-mistletoe)


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